Minor Damage Reported At State Capitol Following Fire

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RALEIGH, N.C. — The

state Capitol building

was evacuated Wednesday afternoon after welders working on the roof started a small fire.

Authorities said there were no reports of injuries or extensive
damage to the 1840 Capitol building, which now houses the offices
of Gov. Mike Easley. Easley was not in the building at the time of
the fire, State Capitol Police Officer Charlie Twitty said.

Workers were soldering the copper when wood under the roof began
to smolder, said Raleigh Fire Department Battalion Chief Tommie
Styons said. The smoke entered the building through the ventilation
system, according to authorities, prompting fire alarms to sound
around 1:50 p.m.

"It was really smoky on the second floor," said Carol
Henderson, the building administrator who was among those
evacuated.

About a dozen fire and rescue vehicles arrived at the scene.
Firefighters climbed scaffolding in 90-degree heat to get to the
roof and used fire extinguishers to douse the fire within five
minutes, Styons said.

The fire was contained to "a very small area," Styons said.

Between 10 and 15 employees in the Capitol and a similar number
of visitors were evacuated, Henderson said. Workers had not
returned to the building late Wednesday afternoon.

"We are so lucky that we have a good fire alarm," Henderson
said.

The State Construction Office had hired Polovick Construction
Co. of Raleigh to make repairs to the Greek Revival-style building
after the dome began to leak, causing falling plaster and water
stains on walls. Portions of the building have been closed to
tours.

Such small fires are not unusual during this kind of soldering
work, said Speros Fleggas, the office director.

The original wooden Capitol building burned to the ground in
1831 as workers melted cracks on a new metal roof, Henderson said.
The current building, with exterior stone walls, housed the
Legislature until 1963, when it moved to their own building a block
away. The building is now a popular tourist attraction in Raleigh.

Henderson said the wood in the state Capitol building was
treated with turpentine and is highly flammable.

"This is a much happier ending," Henderson said.

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